Survey: iPods More Popular than Beer at U.S. Colleges

If you were a college student stranded on a far-off isle and you had to choose between a supply of beer and an iPod as your sole possession—refrigeration and battery life issues aside—would you go with the technology or the beverages?

According to Student Monitor’s biannual Lifestyle and Media survey, more students would drop the beer and toss in the ol’ ear buds, USA Today reports.

The spring 2006 edition of the survey marks the second time drinking beer has been voted out of the top slot of “in” things to do on campus, according to USA Today. In 1997, beer got bumped out of the lead position by the World Wide Web, Eric Weil, a spokesman with Student Monitor, told USA Today.

Six hundred students were surveyed for the study by Ridgewood, N.J.-based Student Monitor, a research firm that focuses on college students, USA Today reports.

According to USA Today, the study found the following to be the top five “in” campus activities:

• using iPods

• beer consumption

• visiting Facebook.com

• consuming other forms of alcohol

• sending/receiving text messages

Surprisingly, uber-popular social networking site MySpace.com was ranked 13th on the list of popular activities, USA Today reports.

“We knew iPods were pervasive on campus as a learning and entertainment device, but we didn’t see it rating that high,” Weil told USA Today. “But I don’t see any reason for Anheuser-Busch and Coors to worry.”

Related Links:

• Valve Amplifiers Give iPod a Retro Touch

• Apple, RIM to Team Up for iPod Handheld?

• Reports: Apple, Softbank Plan iPod Cell Phone

• Nike, Apple Team Up for iPod ‘Sport Kit’

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